Propaganda techniques and how to recognize them

From media to politics, our world runs on propaganda. It is found across the political spectrum. At one point in American history, specifically during the Cold War and the U.S. presidential election of 1948, government schools used to teach students what propaganda was and how to recognize it. During this period in American history, many Americans were aware of political propaganda. This, however, seems to no longer be the case. The reality is, anything can be propaganda, not just a book, an image, or a news story, but also a symbol, a color, or even a simple word. In this article, we are going to look at a few common types of propaganda, how to recognize the techniques, and also how to recognize the purpose of the propaganda.

Glittering Generalities

Glittering generalities are words and phrases that sound a specific way without actually getting into specifics. When Barack Obama was running for President, his campaign slogan was a single word: “Change.” Many Americans were ready for a change after Republican President George W. Bush, and this slogan promised just that. However, what did “Change” mean? It probably conjured feelings of hope for those who voted in favor of Obama. He would be the “change” they would need in America. However, “Change” isn’t specific. It is nothing more than a generalized word that had the ability to make people feel a specific way.

“Make America Great Again” is another example of a glittering generality. It sounds good. What true American wouldn’t want America to be great? However, when you think about it, what does “Make America Great Again” really mean? Opponents may claim that America was never great. Older Americans might think back to their childhood, growing up in 1950s or 1960s America. Some historical scholars might romanticize the patriotism and freedom that came with an America fresh out of the Revolutionary War. The reality is there is no specific way to think about this phrase, only a specific way it is meant to make you feel.

Name Calling/Stereotyping

This may sound a bit childish, but this is a common and effective form of propaganda. The more people hear certain names being applied to a certain person or group, the more people believe that person or group to be those names. That is important, because with those names comes stereotypes.

People on the left effectively employ this form of propaganda frequently. Anyone who disagrees with them in anyway is automatically considered a “fascist,” a “Nazi,” a “homophobe,” a “racist,” a “transphobe,” a “sexist,” a “conspiracy theorist,” an “extremist,” and so on. It does not matter if these words accurately describe someone or not. What matters is that other people begin to associate these words with the person or group.

As for the right, they have often used words like “snowflake,” “woke,” “social justice warrior (SJW),” “groomer,” and “communist.” Just like on the left, whether these words accurately describe the person or group they’re targeting, it does not matter. What matters is how people who hear these words applied to other persons feel about that person or group.

Card-Stacking

Card-stacking is a propaganda technique where certain facts (or perceived facts) are used while other facts are not used in order to build a narrative. For instance, proponents of abortion will say things like, “It’s my body, my choice. All an abortion does is remove a clump of cells.”

On some level, these statements are facts, but they are far from the whole picture, and further information would jeopardize this narrative. The mother’s body is certainly going to play a part in either growing or killing the preborn baby. However, it is not only her body that will be affected during an abortion as the preborn baby will be murdered in the process. Furthermore, the preborn baby does not get a say in its execution, so it’s absolutely the mother’s choice. Referring to the preborn baby as a “clump of cells” is often used by pro-abortionists to dehumanize a human life still in the womb and gives a sense of justification in the killing. However, all humans, whether inside the womb or outside, are technically a “clump of cells.” So, stating an abortion “removes a clump of cells” isn’t technically wrong, but it does not tell the whole reality of the situation as it ignores certain scientific facts for the narrative.

Urgency

Urgency propaganda is used to make people feel like they must act fast. There’s no time to step back and think about best practices because not doing something right away would be detrimental. Climate change activists employ this tactic frequently. In the video below, one climate change activist is using this tactic as she gets carried away by police by declaring that any new oil would be a “death sentence to this planet,” giving people a sense of urgency to stop all things oil.